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06:31PM

AMD to cut up to 30% of workforce: AllThingsDby Carla Mozee

LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Chip maker Advanced Micro Devices Inc.
(amd)
is close to announcing plans to cut between 20% and 30% of its workforce, according to an AllThingsD report late Friday, which cited sources familiar with the matter. AMD has a headcount of about 11,700 workers, and a cut of that size would amount to between 2,300 and 3,500 jobs, the report said. An announcement could be made by as early as next week, said the report. Employees that will be affected will involve those in engineering and sales, groups of employees that have been spared in previous rounds of cuts. AMD late Thursday slashed its third-quarter sequential sales forecast because of weaker-than-expected demand. A spokesman at AMD late Friday told MarketWatch the company has no comment on the rumor or speculation.

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Microsoft Corp.
(msft)
priced its Windows 8 Pro upgrade at $69.99 late Friday, and said that it was taking reserve orders for a packaged version of the software. Starting Oct. 26, though, PC users will be able to download Windows 8 for $39.99. Customers with a PC loaded with Windows 7 that was bought between June 2 this year and Jan. 31, 2013 will be able to upgrade to Windows 8 Pro for $14.99, according to Microsoft.

05:02PM

Treasury to delay report on currency manipulationby Greg Robb

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- The Treasury Department announced Friday that it would delay its next report on currency manipulation until after a high-level international economic meeting in November. The report was due on Oct. 15 but is often late. Despite pressure from lawmakers and manufacturers, the Obama administration has stopped short of saying that China is manipulating its currency. Late Friday, China's yuan rose to its highest level against the U.S. dollar since China allowed the currency to float untethered from the greenback in 2005. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has criticized the White House's China policy as too passive, saying he would designate China a currency manipulator on his first day in office.

04:26PM

Bernanke to give speech in Tokyo on Sundayby Greg Robb

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke will speak Sunday afternoon at a Tokyo seminar on the global financial system, the central bank announced Friday. The seminar, "Challenges of the Global Financial System: Risks and Governance under Evolving Globalization," is sponsored by the Bank of Japan and the International Monetary Fund. His remarks will be available at 12:20 a.m. Eastern on Sunday.

04:15PM

U.S. stocks end worst week in four months
(
DJIASPXCOMP
)
by Kate Gibson

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stock indexes on Friday closed their worst week in four months nearly unchanged, with the market stalling again as worries about Europe overcame an unexpected rise in U.S. consumer confidence. "On the European side, they still have to figure out their fiscal issues, and we're deep into earnings," said Bill Stone, chief investment strategist at PNC Asset Management Group. The Dow Jones Industrial Average
(djia)
added 2.46 points to 13,328.85, off 2.1% for the week. The S&P 500 index
(spx)
shed 4.25 points, or 0.3%, to 1,428.59, leaving it down 2.2% from the week-ago close. The Nasdaq Composite
(comp)
declined 5.3 points, or 0.2%, to 3,044.11.

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Standard & Poor's said Friday it may downgrade the ratings of Advanced Micro Devices Inc.
(amd)
because of the chip maker's reduced outlook on Thursday. S&P has a BB- corporate credit rating on AMD. The ratings agency said it will meet with AMD's management before deciding whether to downgrade. On Thursday, AMD said it expected quarterly revenue to decline by 10% sequentially, compared with its earlier forecast of a 4% decline to 2% rise, because of weaker-than-expected demand. The forecast pushes AMD's leverage ratios and liquidity to levels that would trigger a downgrade, S&P said.

03:00PM

U.S. fiscal year 2012 deficit $1.089 trillionby Robert Schroeder

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- The U.S. government ran a budget surplus of $75 billion in September, the Treasury Department reported Friday, but posted a deficit of $1.089 trillion for all of fiscal 2012, the fourth year in a row with a deficit of more than $1 trillion. Compared to a year ago, the deficit is about 16% less, due to both higher revenues and reduced spending.

LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Crude-oil prices fell Friday, with investors heading into the weekend with an International Energy Agency report estimating weaker oil demand this year while they kept watch on ongoing tension in the Middle East. Crude oil for November delivery
(clx2)
fell 21 cents, or 0.2%, to $91.86 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil prices swung between gains and losses during Friday's session. For the week, oil closed higher by 2.2%.

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